Drugs-a no no
While arranging my collection of reviewed books, I came across several I’d overlooked which had escaped my notice. Thumbing through them, I felt that they be ignored no longer. I trust the bookshops still offer them. Heroin by Julie O’Toole especially caught my fancy.
A memoir, Heroin is a catharsis by an Irish woman regarding her addiction and her overcoming of it. Lacking the finesse of Thomas De Quincey’s 19th century Confessions Of An Opium Eater, it is nonetheless compelling.
One of seven children born and bred in the capital, Julie has little good to say about Dublin’s inner city. Drugs are prevalent there “even on your doorstep”. Her family is working class, her father rarely working.
Da was a drunk, which took what money he made. When he wasn’t hitting Ma, she was out shoplifting. The kids didn’t starve or want for clothing. But Ma was in and out of prison for it.
The parents loved the children, yet showed them no affection. It was clear they never learned to hug. Julie went to school, then played football to escape the dour atmosphere at home. In her teens she went clubbing with friends. They tried drugs to see what they were like.
You can guess the results. Uppers, downers, ecstasy, heroin; the lot. Her personality changed. Exploded at her parents and siblings when they tried to reason with her. That she was killing herself. Once an addict, always an addict. When lucid, she wanted to change that. Would her body allow?
Doing a lot of praying and joining Victory Outreach, a group with global branches, going to one in Dublin, another in London, and another in California, Julie finally kicked the habit. After returning to Ireland, Julie became one of the group’s counsellors, got a job in a bank, married, has a son.
The closing pages have her giving dire warnings against sampling drugs. Similar non-fiction books are recommended and how to contact a number of rehabilitation centres.
Read Heroin if you don’t take drugs. It will curb your curiosity about them. Particularly if you have already indulged.